2013 Offseason Update, Week 14

After 16 seasons, all in Tampa Bay, Ronde Barber is retiring from the NFL.
He is the NFL record-holder for sack and consecutive starts by a cornerback.
Photo credit to buccaneers.com.

It’s a dead period in the NFL. I was too optimistic when I planned on writing multiple blog posts each week over the course of the offseason. As it is, it’s difficult to find enough worthy topics for a weekly update. Here is what I’ve got for you this week.

Ronde Retires

Tiki Barber retired in 2006 but is currently unretired and a free agent in the NFL. At 38-years-old, twin brother Ronde is unlikely to have any comeback bids in his future.

The Tampa Bay lifer only led the league in interceptions once, in 2001, the year before helping the Buccaneers secure their first and only Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXXVII.

He was never an interception king, but he played sound defense for 16 seasons and is the franchise record holder for interceptions. He was selected to five Pro Bowls and finished his career with 215 consecutive starts, and NFL record for a defensive back (he made 200 consecutive starts at cornerback, also an NFL record, before making a start at safety in Week 2 of this season.

Barber also ends his career as the NFL record holder for sacks by a cornerback, with 28 in his career. Though his numbers don’t measure up to the all-time great NFL defensive backs, like Ronnie Lott and Deion Sanders, most sports writers are calling Ronde Barber a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame.

Texans Hope Defense can Win for Offense

Gary Kubiak confirmed this week that Brian Cushing is back and “looks good.” Cushing was lost for the year midway through last season. The defense mostly overcame the loss with J.J. Watt having a stellar year, but the offense proved to be a weakness late in the season and in the playoffs.

Unless Matt Schaub returns to 2010 form, the defense will need to be even better than in 2012, and Cushing is the key.

John Abraham Moves On

Abraham is out in Atlanta, but has been in talks with the Tennessee Titans for a week now. The news that the parties were working on a deal came out last Monday. There haven’t been many updates to the story, other than Mike Munchak confirming on Saturday that they are still considering John Abraham as an addition to the roster.

Abraham was a solid defensive end for the New York Jets for several years before being traded to Atlanta and becoming an even more imposing presence on the defensive front. However, a rough 2012 which included injury problems late in the season led the Falcons to release Abraham despite signing him to a 3-year contract worth over $16 million last June.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

NFC Championship Preview: Falcons vs 49ers

Sunday, January 20, 2013

3:00pm – FOX

San Francisco 49ers @ Atlanta Falcons

The 49ers return for a second straight year as they tie Dallas for the most
NFC Championship Game appearances, with 14. This is Atlanta's third
appearance and their first since January 2005.

I did not have an easy time coming up with my predictions for either of Sunday’s games, but this one was definitely the tougher of the two.

San Francisco, of course, has had a fantastic season. Alex Smith played great football early in the season, and when Colin Kaepernick took over, he impressed right away. As bad as I feel for Smith, Kaepernick earned the right to continue starting for the 49ers and he has continued to play great in big games.

Not only has Kaepernick shown an ability to win big games, he’s shown that he can do it regardless of the venue. The Georgia Dome, however, may be the loudest venue in the NFL – no offense to the Superdome or to CenturyLink Field.

I think being at home played a fairly significant role in Kaepernick overcoming an early pick-6 and leading San Francisco to victory last week. I’m not ready to bet on him having as big of a game against Atlanta.

The Falcons have been wanting for a postseason win for several years now, and they finally got one by holding off the Seahawks last week. I think Matt Ryan will benefit a great deal from that confidence boost.

The 49ers dealt with Green Bay’s massive receiving corps quite nicely. They likely won’t get beat too badly by Roddy White or Julio Jones, but I don’t know that they can compete with White and Jones on a physical level.

The one thing that makes me real nervous about this pick is the questionable status of John Abraham, who was severely limited against Seattle with an ankle injury and might not be active at all tomorrow.

Still, I think the home field advantage, a confident Matt Ryan and a defense that is much better than Green Bay’s will be enough to send Atlanta to their franchise’s second Super Bowl appearance.

Puff’s Pick:

San Francisco 49ers – 20

Atlanta Falcons – 31

MVP: Matt Ryan


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Divisional Round Preview: Falcons vs Seahawks

Game 3:

Sunday, January 13, 2013

1:00pm – FOX

Seattle Seahawks @ Atlanta Falcons

Despite consistently being one of the best regular season quarterbacks
in the NFL, Matt Ryan has yet to win a playoff game. He will try to win
his first on Sunday against Seattle. Photo credit to SBRforum.com.

This was a very tough one for me to dissect, as it is the only Divisional Round game that is not a rematch of a 2012 regular season game. The Falcons only game against the NFC West this year was a narrow win over the Cardinals in Week 11. The Seahawks lone meeting with an NFC South team was a 4-point victory in Carolina early in the season.

Atlanta had a solid season. They were undefeated against all non-NFC South opponents, losing in road games to New Orleans and Carolina and at home in Week 17 to Tampa Bay. Speaking of that home loss, it was their only loss at home this season and Matt Ryan has never lost consecutive home games in his collegiate and professional career.

Seattle’s defense looked shaky on the road in Washington. They were torched on their first two defensive drives and it’s hard to believe that their later success wasn’t primarily because RG3 was not himself.

Atlanta is in the bottom half of the league defending both the run and the pass, and that will play into Seattle’s favor. Marshawn Lynch had a terrific game against Washington’s stingy defensive line and I don’t expect much to be different this Sunday.

One piece of news that could affect that, though, is the possible returns of John Abraham, Dunta Robinson and William Moore. Abraham practiced Wednesday and Moore returned last Saturday. Robinson suffered a concussion against Tampa Bay in Week 17 but may be cleared in time for Sunday’s contest.

Seattle just does not play the same on the road and their ‘high-scoring offense’ is looking more and more like a three-week phenomenon. The Redskins’ defense held them to 24 points. The Redskins! Seattle won’t get the same big plays through the air they found in Washington and I’m not sure Lynch will be enough to get back-to-back road wins for Seattle.

Puff’s Pick:

Seattle Seahawks – 17

Atlanta Falcons – 27

MVP: Matt Ryan